In Her Tower
by ILuvMamo-chan
Summary: Just a cute little SoraKairi fic. Kairi is feeling left out and overprotected. Does Sora not care or does he care too much?


Hello everyone! This is just a short little lovey story I wrote for my friend because she probably thinks I'm a yaoi-obsessed freak. Yaoi-obsessed perhaps...but certainly not a freak! Anyways, this is a Kairi-Sora fic, mostly from Kairi's point of view. I can't say I've ever really liked liked Kairi, because you know so little of her and so much of Sora and Riku. But anyways, I think I made her pretty interesting. Maybe I'm just a little full of myself.

Stacy, this story is for you.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of it's highly interesting characters.

Title: In Her Tower

Author: ILuvMamo-chan

Rating: PG-13ish, kind of language, mostly crazy author afterthoughts

PS: I apologize for the grammer/spelling...wordpad no spell check

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Kairi stared out across the water, absentmindedly brushing at her uniform skirt with a frown. Once again, Riku and Sora had found playing hookie and transfering misssion requests from the king was far more important than school. Or her, for that matter.

She could wield a keyblade. Countless times over she had proven that she had not only the ability to use the weapon, but more and more increasingly, was good at it. She had started out shaky (she couldn't deny her skills had been downright girly) but with practice, she had even managed to best both boys once or twice. But Sora insisted it was safer for her to stay out of the fray. He and Riku were more than capable of handling everything by themselves. All she had to do was be a good little girl and set her butt to the side and wait. And wait. And wait. Like she HADN'T waited enough for Sora to come rescue her. Repeatedly.

Frankly, she was sick of being a damsel in distress. And she wasn't even that anymore. She was excess baggage, if anything.

Picking up a stone sitting at her feet, she threw it into the water with a quick flick of the wrist and watched it skip five times before sinking to the bottom. There had been a point where she couldn't even get it to skip once, and when she finally trained herself to actually skip the bloody thing, she'd been by herself. Because she wasn't a part of Sora and Riku's click. She was just a girl after all. Whether she was a trained warrior or not.

Becoming infuriated all over again, Kairi stamped her foot indignately, followed by a swift kick to the sand. She needed to get away for a little while. Deciding that the island was her only logical choice, she made her way to Selphie's to invite the girl along with her. She had a feeling that Selphie would completely understand what she was going through.

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"Wow Kairi, is something the matter? You're rowing like we're being followed by something...really scary."

Kairi tried to ignore the fact that Selphie wasn't quite good at simile, and slowed her rowing. "Sorry, I'm just a little frustrated that's all. Just...boys. You know?"

"Is something going on with Sora? You guys are supposed to be dating, and it's like you're the only one that's doing the dating. Totally crummy."

Kairi sighed, her arms coming to a stop as they coasted into the dock and met the wood with a quiet thunk. "That's kinda why I wanted you to come to the island with me today. I need someone to commiserate with. I couldn't stay at home. This is about the only place that can always cheer me up."

"Well, if you think I can help." As they both climbed from the boat, she noticed Selphie suck her lip in and bite down.

"What's the matter?"

"It's just that...I kind of asked someone to meet me here is all. And now I'm thinking it was a bad idea."

"Selph, it's okay. Where is she? Or is that one of her boats alreayd tied up? Ugh, I hope Tidus and Wakka aren't here. It'd be even worse if it was Sora or Riku. Stupid boys."

At that, Selphie suddenly became increasingly interested in her shoes. Normally Kairi thought nothing of it, since Selphie was ALWAYS increasingly interested in her shoes, but the fact that her gaze stayed on her feet for longer than a moment did not bode well.

"Selphie, what aren't you telling me?"

"Thin thing is...you see...the person I invited isn't exactly a she. Far from it actually."

"Oh jeez Selphie, don't tell me you did invite Tidus or Wakka."

"No, not them. It's actually someone that's never been to the island before. And I really like him, so I wanted him to see it. Are you mad?"

Kairi sighed and moved an annoying hair behind her ear. She wasn't mad really, just a little upset. She couldn't exactly describe all that was wrong with the other sex if said half of the species was there. She sighed again, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Can't be helped now I suppose. So is it anyone I know? Is he in our school?"

They started out across the sand, Kairi leading the way to the dock that held the paopu island at the end. Normally Sora and Riku would have been hanging around on the branches swapping stories and showing off scars, but only the wind was present.

"You might know him." They both sat at the end of the dock, legs swinging back and forth, toes stretched towards the water after they had removed their shoes. "He's become pretty popular since he came to school."

"Popular?" Kairi looked to the sky for a moment, racking her brain. She was pretty popular herself, more-so since she was Sora's girlfriend. Sora and Riku were like by all the kids in school, especially since they had missed a year. Their disappearance encouraged rumors, most completely ridiculous. Kairi giggled a little inwardly as she remembered the one about them being male models.

"Yeah. Though it's kinda been mostly with just the girls."

"The girls?" Trying to get over the fact that she sounded like a parrot, reality slowly creeped around her brain and Kairi groaned low. "Oh Selphie don't tell me you invited that skirt-chasing cowboy wannabe Irvine Kinneas? He's only sixteen and he's probably already got ten different diseases! I heard he already slept with half the females at school!"

"No, it's not like that! I mean, yeah, he is an awful flirt, and he does always wear that hat, but I mean, he's really sweet. And he talks to me different, and he said if he had me as his girlfriend he wouldn't even look at any other girls anymore, and he calls me Sephie and it's really cute and he's really cute and..."

"Selphie slow down. I get it. You like him. Your really like him. And if you say he's so wonderful, I really have no choice but to believe you."

"But I feel bad. You came her to talk with me, and I invited someone else. And a guy no less. I'm sure that's the last thing you wanted."

"Jeez Selphie, I'm not that bad off. So Sora's been a little distant. It's not the first time those two have left me out. I can take care of myself."

"There you are!"

Selphie and Kairi turned their bodies to see a boy in cargo shorts, a tank top, and a cowboy hat jog across the dock and come to a slow halt in front of them, a huge and somewhat perverted grin crossing his face. "You didn't tell me there was going to be a cute friend her too Selphie. What am I to do?"

"Oh yeah, his flirting days are over." Kairi muttered under her breath just as Selphie's angry yelp escaped her lips.

"Irvie, how can you flirt right in front of me?"

"Sephie, it was just a joke. You know I like you and only you."  
Kairi tried unsucessfully to stop her eyes from rolling into the back of her head. She had a feeling that soon she'd gain third wheel status, so she stood and brushed the sand from her skirt.

"I'm going to go walk around the island. You two have fun."

"But Kairi..."

"Don't worry about me. I think a walk by myself is just what I need. You two have fun. Don't do anything Sora and I wound't do!"

Irvine's grin widdened as Selphie blushed deeply and once again became engrossed with her shoe. Unfortunately for Irvine, had he known how little she and Sora had actually done, Selphie wouldn't have had any reason to blush. And maybe she wouldn't have had a reason to be so upset at that moment.

She walked away from the couple, despite Selphie's last ditch attempt to keep her. Waving a little at her frowning companion and said companion's grinning boyfriend, Kairi trudged to one of the tree houses.

It took more effort to climb the ladder than she remembered, even though she was now more fit than ever. She may not join Sora and Riku on their usual missions, but it didn't mean she didn't train on her own. And she did so often, in case the two actually did let her do something more than sit on her rear waiting for them to return.

Peeking into the interior of what had once been a common hiding spot for the three of them, Kairi suddenly remembered that what little had been in the club house was long since gone. All had gone to preparing their trip to set out for another world. And that seemed like a forever ago. In many ways, it was.

"It was so easy back then." Kairi plopped in the center of the room, breathing in the familiar and nostalgic scent of wood and sea air. They'd spent hours in that room, planning for their trip, complaining about school, silly things that in the grand scheme of waht they now knew seemed inconsequential. And yet, in some ways, she wished to go back to not knowing all they did. Maybe then she wouldn't feel so left out.

As a sudden warmth made it's presence known on her face, Kairi reached with a tentative finger and felt one large hot tear fall slowly down her cheek. For a moment she chuckled at her weakness; tears never helped anyone. But just as quickly one tear followed the other, and soon they fell in succesion, hot enough to cause physical as well as emotional pain as her mouth opened to release loud embarassing sobs, her body wrenching forward. She cried so hard she gagged herself, tears and shrieks making her stomach turn. She hated them for making her sit alone. Hated Sora for ignoring her, making her feel the way she did. Hated herself for crying like a fool. She clawed at her knees, willing herself to stop the senseless tears, but couldn't. She gnashed her teeth together, burying her face into her knees, hoping to at least muffle her cries. She couldn't stand it if Irvine and Selphie found her this way. Especially not Riku and Sora.

When she heard heavy footfall the tears came to a sharp stand-still; she scrambled to one side of the doorway and hid in the vacant area just out of the view of anyone who would pass by. The irratic footsteps came to a hault, and Kairi determined at least two people had approached. She realized she really had been training quite a bit.

"All right Riku, enough running for today. I'm warn out."

"Wimp."

At her own squeak Kairi shoved her fist in her mouth, but leaned towards the opening to peek anyway. Sora sat at the edge where the ladder was, one leg propped up as his elbow used it for leverage. The other hung loosely over the edge. Riku leaned lazily along the railing.

"I think you've been lacking in your training Sora. You can usually run a lot farther than that."

"Yeah yeah. But we just did all that sparring before. It was your idea to skip school anyway. I'm starting to think King Mickey didn't really contact you last night."

"I just said he said he may contact us today with a mission."

"Right." Sora's face plopped down into an open palm, and he blew out between his lips. "I probably should have told Kairi we were ditching. She's gonna be mad."

"Mad because we ditched or mad because we didn't invite her?"

Kairi shifted uncomfortably as she tried to get a better look. Hearing her name at least come up relieved a little of the hurt she felt, but she was still angry. Even if he was thinking of her, he wasn't trying any harder to include her.

"You know she'll be mad regardless. We've been ditching everything more and more often."

"We should start inviting her Sora. She is a keyblade master. We owe her at least some battle time."

'At least Riku's on my side.' She thought, taking the time to wipe her cheeks in the quietest manner she knew how.

"No. I don't want her there."

Kairi jumped back a little and watched as Riku's normally expressionless face open up in surprise. Sora's words had been harsh and left little room for argument.

"What do you mean? It's not like she hasn't fought before. And she trains a lot Sora. Sometimes I think she does training more often than even us."

Sora stood up in a quick and fluid manner, moving as he did only in battle. He stood in front of Riku, unable to meet eye to eye but intimidating none-the-less. More than he usually was.

"I don't want Kairi on missions, or battles, or anything a keyblade master usually has to do."

"That's unfair Sora. It's not your decission to make."

Kairi sat back on her heels, feeling guilty, finally, for listening in. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear why Sora was so bent on her being out of battle. It could lead to other confessions, one perhaps where he said he didn't want to be with her anywhere. She stuffed her fist farther in her mouth to prevent any sound. Even breathing.

If she revealed herself now, it would only lead to more problems. Sora would be angry with her for eavesdropping. Then there'd be no way he'd ever let her fight. And that may be the best case scenario.

She peeked out around the opening to see Sora lean against the railing, looking out at the water. Riku turned and mimicked Sora's pose, folding his hands.

"You could at least tell her why she's being left out."

"I can't Riku. If I try to explain it to her, she'll just want to fight even more. She's pretty stubborn." Sora put his head on his hands, blowing slowly upward to get the hair out of his eyes. "She's had so many close calls. I mean, first she has her heart stolen because she was a princess. Then we're separated for more than a year. After that, simply because she was close to me, the organization kidnaps her. Every time she gets anywhere near battle, there's the increased chance that she won't make it out. Just by being near you and me she's in danger. I lost her for a year. I...wouldn't be able to live with myself if I lost her for good. I might not be able to live at all."

"Sora..."

"I know. I'm being mushy. But I love her Riku. You know?"

Riku looked at Sora, a small smile on his face, and sad eyes. "Yeah Sora, I know." Riku reached out and ruffled his hair, his smile turning softer as he caught sight of auburn hair out of the corner of his eye. "I'm gonna go back to the mainland now."

"I'll come with you."

"Nah, why don't you stay here? Maybe train some more. You need it."

"Whatever! How many times have YOU saved the worlds from nothingness?"

"Yes, you are the ultimate keyblade master." The voices got smaller and more distant as the two boys climbed down the ladder.

Kairi slowly stood, hands clenched at her sides. She had always been bad at jumping to conclusions, and going in head first without thinking, but she had no idea what to do. She ran a shaky hand through her hair, the hand coming back to rest over her mouth.

She wasn't a third wheel. The hand blocking her lips hid her slight smile. He had even said he loved her.

Kairi walked slowly to the rail, watching Sora and Riku running down the beach and exchange friendly punches. She smiled wider, leaning over the wooded plank to get a better view as Riku took his raft and began to quickly move from the dock.

She did have quite a problem however. As much as it touched her that Sora was protecting her, she couldn't simply play the princess protected in the castle forever. She didn't want to be Sora's weakness, anymore than she already was.

Kairi pushed herself from the rail forcefully, her feet light as she ran down the planks rather than take the ladder. She felt like running. Se felt like gliding. She just needed a few more moments to figure out what exactly she would say to Sora.

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Kairi made her footsteps slight as she walked across the bridge to paopu island. At the end Sora sat liesurely in the tree's branches, hands behind his head as his leg dangled. He whistled a strange yet nostalgic tune. The sun was still high but in the stages of setting, and Kairi didn't have to look to know he was smiling. Sora was almost always smiling. The thought of that turned Kairi's lips upward, and she quickened her pace to get to where he was. Before he could turn to see who was approaching him, Kairi hoisted herself behind him and gently embraced his back, causing Sora to jump. As he turned, his nose collided with her cheek and she laughed deep in her throat.

"Kairi, how long have you been here?"

He turned, and instead of releasing him Kairi pulled herself close, her nose burrowing into his shirt.

"What's wrong?" When she didn't answer, Sora became flustered and started patting her back awkwardly. "Are you trying to make me feel guilty for skipping today? You know I wouldn't unless it was really important, and I would have told you, but it was sudden and..."

Kairi, creative genius that she was, lifted her head swiftly and pressed her lips to his. She succeeded in not only shutting him up, but knocking him out of the tree.

Kairi hung loosely from one branch on her stomach, her laughs painful as Sora rubbed his head and stared stupidly back at her. When he finally realized what had happened, Kiari laughed herself right out of the tree and onto the sand.

Sora laughed in turn at Kairi's shocked face and open mouth. Kairi retaliated by pinning him with a quick lunge.

"You're out of your mind today." He said in a strained voice, the pounce and extra weight taking a toll on his stomach.

"I love you is all."

She watched as Sora's whole face turned bright red. "Wha...what?"

"I love you silly!" He turned an even deeper shade of red and sat up, Kairi sliding backwards until they were sitting face to face.

"What brought that on?"

"I don't know. Everything." She took his hand, lacing her fingers with his. "I just wanted you to know. Because I know how you feel about me."

"Do you?" His answer was slow and shaky.

"Of course. And I know you'd hate for anything to happen to me. But you have to believe in me Sora. I believe that you can do anything. I mean, you're the keyblade master. But that doesn't mean you have to take on everything by yourself. I want to be by your side when you fight. I want to help you."

"Me and Riku can handle it."

Kairi sighed and let her head fall, hitting him lightly in the chest. "That's not the point. I need to be there with you. I know you wouldn't let me get hurt. But it hurts to not be able to help you."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize! Just let me be a keyblade master. I'm kind of one anyway."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far."

She punched him in the arm as he laughed, until finally he held of her fist long enough to give her a quick kiss on the lips. Kairi flushed lightly, and then joined their lips once more.

Sora pulled her close, his hand lost somewhere in her hair as the other clutched protectively at her side. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

He felt her head nod against her neck, her breath sending shivers all the way down to his toes. "I'm positive. I just...I just want to be near you. Even if it's the worst possible decission."

"Don't say it like that! You'll make me want to change my mind."

"Too bad. You already said I could."

"I didn't say a word!"

Kairi untangled herself from Sora's limbs and stood quickly, brushing her hair over her shoulder and winking. "I could race you for it."

Sora followed suit, his eyes narrowing. "I don't trust you. You'll cheat."

"Of course not. This is a race for honor."

"You're strange."

Kairi kissed him hard, throwing her arms around him to fully get into their connection. As her womanly charms did her justice, Kairi took off towards the door to the other side of the island, where they had spent so much time preparing for their journey to a new world. "But I'm you're kind of strange!"

Shaking out of his stupor, Sora broke into a stumbling run, reaching towards his chuckling girlfriend. "I knew you'd cheat!"

Kairi's laughter trickled back to him, drifting on the wind like stars falling from the sky.

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There! I'm done! I hope you all liked it (especially you Stacy, I really worked hard on this! Well, Kind of...) Though, if I wrote it for the couple I usually favor in this series, it probably would have ended in more of the manner of, "Sora, how could you?! I thought you loved me!" (As spoken by Riku) However, Stacy probably wouldn't have minded if it was preceeded by, "Gross Riku, you're like totally a dude and that's just wrong! I could only ever love Kairi!" Though, more likely, the response would have been, "You're right Riku! You're completely prettier than Kairi and I want you to stick your BEEP in my BEEP!"

I'm sorry. That's just me being a psycho. Thank you really for reading. If you want to review, please do, if not; I'll be sad. But I'll live. Really. I will. (But review.)


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